The ones who were left behind
by Manga-bird
Summary: Set after Death Note, Misa tries her hardest to cope with Light's death, never imagining she would fall in love and spend her final year as happy as she had ever been, managing to teach Near that the world is not as scary as it first appeares.


DISCLAIMER - i do not own death note or any of it's characters

Note - i know Near probably isn't six foot, but i want him to be fairly tall to go with Misa better, sorry if that annoys.

Misa sat in the hotel room watching the television, suddenly feeling her heart jerk, the jerk she felt when something terrible happened, a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach, _something…happened…_she thought as she put her hand to her chest, gasping as she felt tears sliding down her cheeks, _Light?_ She wondered fearfully, catching herself as she raised her thumb to her mouth, determined not to chew her nail, she'd only just applied a new layer of varnish. She got to her feet and began to pace, _it's nothing, stop making such a fuss! You want to look nice and happy for Light when he comes back, so just calm down!_ She scolded as she sat down once again and watched the television screen, not concentrating on the show at all.

"Misa?" a voice called as there was a knock on the door. _I know that voice! Matsuda!_ She thought with a bright smile as she got to her feet, _Light must have gone back to work! That's why he sent Matsuda to tell me so that I won't worry!_ She decided as she ran to the door and threw it open, throwing her arms around Matsuda, "Matsuda! How did the meeting go? Light must be really busy if he went straight back to work!" she laughed as she looked into the corridor seeing Aizawa and Mogi waiting with solemn looks, and on Aizawa's knees she could see a dark stain, the colour obscured by the dark brown material.

"Misa…" Matsuda said, his voice solemn for the first time since she had known him. Her smile slipped from her face, all three men looking guilty and sombre, Aizawa looking away as she looked up at him.

"Mogi? Aizawa?" she said questioningly, already knowing as her knees began to shake, _no…not Light…it was just a meeting…just a meeting…_she thought stunned as she looked from one to the other, desperate to get a response from one of them, _please don't say it! Don't tell me…don't say he's gone!_ She cried inwardly as Matsuda took the lead once again and rested his hand on her shoulders gently,

"Misa…we went to a warehouse with Near…we were going to capture Kira, together, and we got him, Kira's gone but…before he died…he…killed Light…it was all thanks to Light Misa…he brought Kira down." He said gently, assuring her that his death hadn't been in vain, that he had died accomplishing his goal, but he was still gone, he had still left Misa behind. She felt tears sting her eyes as her knees buckled and she feel to the floor, Matsuda going down with her and pulling her into his arms, stroking her blonde hair gently.

"Here, let me help get her inside." Aizawa said as he stepped forward, finding his way blocked by Mogi, who swiftly bent down and scooped her into his strong arms, his large build filling the doorway as he carried her inside to the bedroom, where he deposited her gently on the bed, where she curled into a foetal position and cried. "Is Near sure about this?" Aizawa asked as they retreated to the living room and sat down on the sofa and chairs, Aizawa taking one chair while Matsuda took the other, leaving the sofa to Mogi as they waited for Near.

"Well, she may have been the second Kira at one time, but now she's just a young woman grieving for her fiancé, I don't think I can think of a worse punishment…can you?" Matsuda asked as he looked across at Aizawa, who thought of his wife and what he would do if he ever lost her, and thinking this he shook his head, it really was a terrible thing to lose someone you love.

"So, what do we do now?" Matsuda asked as he looked between his colleagues, seeing Mogi's jaw tighten and Aizawa sit back in his chair,

"Well, we return the body to the Yagami's and we go back to work." He replied simply, not surprised at Matsuda's sudden outburst,

"That's it? We just…go back? What about the Yagamis? Sachiko and Sayu? And Misa, I know you don't like her Aizawa, but…I do, she's so kind hearted and genuine." He argued as Aizawa lifted a hand to argue back,

"Matsuda, she was the second Kira, she killed innocent people! That is something I will not forgive…but…now that she's forgotten who she was I admit, she is…nice." He conceded with a little difficulty as the front door opened and Near entered with Rester, who stayed at his side like a worrisome father. Near, though in fact nineteen years old, looked a lot younger, due mainly to the fact that he was always hunched up or crouching and wearing clothes a size or two too big. The blonde boy crouched on the sofa next to Mogi in a position that seemed very L like. Rester stayed behind the sofa, watching the proceedings attentively,

"Sorry to call you all here so soon after what happened…I know you were very close." Near said almost indifferently as he looked at the faces around him, Aizawa's expression showing he felt anything but sorry to see Light gone, Mogi was guarded and expressionless, but Matsuda had clearly felt the loss heavily as he looked at the floor sadly. "I have called you here to tell you my intentions with the case. It will be closed as a mystery, Kira escaped, killing Light Yagami in the process, and as for the note books, they will be locked away secretly by me in a place that will never be found, and upon my death they will be cremated with my corpse, by that time anyone who has touched the books will surely be dead, so it will not matter." He reasoned, tapping his chest where there was a hollow knocking sound where the books were hidden, "Also I intend to speak with Miss. Amane one final time to be sure the knowledge of the death note is truly gone." He concluded, receiving a glare from Matsuda,

"She's just lost her fiancé! Don't you think she's been through enough?" he demanded, _you don't know the half of it, _Near thought as he put together the pieces of the puzzle, how Light must have used Misa for his own ends, probably influencing her to make the eye trade again judging by the amount of deaths over the years, and once he had used her he discarded her, hurting her by seducing Takada without a second thought, not concealing his adultery from anyone, least of all Misa, _if only she could see she was being used the whole time, she wouldn't feel the pain she is feeling now._ He thought pityingly as he got to his feet, heading to the bedroom where he could hear quiet sobs and constant snuffles.

"Who is it?" she cried as he knocked and pushed the door open, seeing her look confused as she took in his frame, a flicker of reminiscence in her eyes, perhaps due to his slightly slouched walk, which resembled L's so much.

"Near, may I come in?" he asked politely, signalling to Rester to stay in the living room. Misa nodded and sat up, wiping her tears away as Near locked the door behind him and made his way to the bed, crouching beside her, looking at her tear stained fact, her eyes wet and red, her hair tangled from where she had been lying down and her mascara running down her cheeks.

"What is it Near-chan?" she asked, receiving a warm smile from Near, who seemed genuinely concerned for her as he pulled a packet of tissues from his pocket and handed one to her, which she used to wipe away her black tears.

"There are some things I would like to ask you about Miss. Amane, about Light and also about the second Kira incident." He replied, seeing her scowl, "I know, I am sorry, but it would be best to conclude things sooner rather than later." He added, seeing her reluctant nod as she settled back comfortably on the bed, her hair fanning out across the white pillows. "I'll start with the second Kira incident. You were taken from work approximately five years ago, tell me what you remember." He ordered as he shifted his legs to a more comfortable position,

"Well, I had just finished shooting for the day, and as I was leaving I was blindfolded and taken away, I was so scared, and then I was put in a straight jacket, strapped to a trolley and left without food or water for days. Then the police realised their mistake and I helped Light and Ryuzaki with the Yotsuba investigation." She replied, her blue eyes looking up at the ceiling as she folded her arms behind her head. Near shifted his pale blue gaze so her face, _no sign of deception so far,_

"There was some confusion in your responses. During your capture for the first few days you seemed to be hiding information. You knew where you were and who had taken you, but all of a sudden you became hysterical and called the officers holding 'perverts' and calling the speaker 'Mr. Stalker', do you know why that is?" he asked carefully, trying to tread as softly on the thin ice as possible, not looking away as she shot a glare his way,

"Perhaps the lack of food and water drove me mad, how should I know?" she demanded, satisfying Near's suspicion on that point, _now onto Light._ He thought as he nodded, Misa's gaze returning to the ceiling,

"Now…Light became your boyfriend shortly after the second Kira incident began, and you were with each other since that time, and throughout that time what did Light tell you about his work?" he asked, seeing Misa shake her head, tears sliding down her cheeks, "Nothing? Nothing at all?" he prompted, receiving another shake of the head,

"I…he…he didn't like to talk about his work…he wanted to keep me out of it, keep me safe to make me his wife." She sobbed, sitting up and clutching the tissue to her eyes. Near paused, allowing her to grieve, curious as to how she would react to his next line of questioning. "At about the time that Takada Kiyomi became Kira's spokes person, it is true that Light began to…" he trailed off, a glare sent his way,

"Don't say it! He did not abandon me!" she cried, not wanting to think about those weeks, the weeks she had wondered and dreaded what was happening, and how eventually Takada as good as confirmed it. Misa had never felt so foolish, and after many tears Light had managed to calm her and convince her that it was all for the case, on one of the few visits he paid her at home, one of the very few visits. She had been happy with Light; she couldn't believe those days would never come again.

"Alright…he used Takada for his work, sometimes spending the whole night with her." He said, watching as Misa's fist clenched, her nails breaking the skin and trickles of blood running down her hand. "And then Takada was killed, along with…a very close friend." He continued, looking at the bed sheets as he thought of Mello, someone he had treasured, even though they didn't see eye to eye often, "Would you have killed her if you had the chance?" he asked as he shifted his gaze to Misa's, seeing a look of utter horror etched into her features,

"How dare you! I could never kill another person! Not even her!" she shouted angrily, Near's gaze not leaving hers,

"What about killing for Light? If he asked you…would you kill someone?" he asked, seeing her resolve falter and her gaze fall to the bloodied white bed sheets, noticing the cuts in her hand for the first time,

"I…I don't know…it never…it never came up…I guess…if it were for Light…" she replied, her eyes softening as she thought how romantic it would be to kill someone to save Light, or even to please Light, to make him smile. _What I wouldn't give to feel his arms around me one last time,_ she thought, remembering how it felt to be crushed against his firm chest as he ran his fingers softly through her hair, his eyes softening slightly as he looked at her, and how he let her snuggle against him when she was tired, even when he was working, unless it was something really important.

"Very well, that is all I needed to ask, thank you for your patience." Near said with a nod of the head as he got to his feet, stretching to his full, and almost six foot, height before shrinking back into his usual slouch and heading for the door. Misa smiled slightly and lay down once again; closing her eyes and imagining Light were beside her.


End file.
